Chronicles of a writer abroad

Monthly Archives: February 2013

I was just sitting here at my desk, trying to decide whether I should blog about the fact that I haven’t been blogging, which of course draws unnecessary attention to the blogging delinquency but also allows me to feel I’m somewhat making amends for it…

…when the sirens started to go off.

Air-raid sirens. A great number of them, echoing and amplifying each other. Their cries were loud and mournful, six notes ascending and then descending. I am powerless to describe how much they spooked me. The cats went skittering for cover under our bed. Looking out the window toward the source of the sound, I saw lots of calm, softly-falling snow that rendered the scene still more eerie. But in less than a minute, it was all over.

Apparently (so Google informs me) the first Wednesday of February is always siren-testing day here, but I’ve somehow managed obliviousness during the last two Februaries — maybe we were traveling, or our old apartment was somehow sheltered from the sound. Now I’ve experienced it, though: another of those reminders that life in Europe is a little different.

Despite having that to share with you, I still want to say what I originally intended to, which is that the gaps between my posts will likely continue to grow, because I don’t want to blog just for blogging’s sake — I want to do it only when I have something interesting and worthwhile to talk about.

But I still want your friendship and affection, so here are some other ways you can stay in touch with me: I plan to post most of my future book-related thoughts on Goodreads, where you can be my friend to see what I’m reading and what I think of it; I’ve also started to explore Grooveshark as a means of broadening my musical horizons, and we can buddy up there too. Of course I’ll continue to be a crappy facebooker as well.

Thank you for your attention to this message, and I hope your February is off to a pleasant and unalarming (!) start.